


The Pain That Never Fades

by Blue_Night



Category: Football RPF, Real Person Fiction
Genre: Alpha!Marco, Alpha!Robert, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Anal Sex, Angry Sex, Angst, Bite marks, Emotions, Established Relationship, Explicit Sexual Content, Fights, Hurt/Comfort, Love, Love Bites, Love Confessions, M/M, Omega!Erik, Omega!Thomas, Pretty dark and definitely not fluffy but with a softer end..., Two Alphas in love, Understanding, accepted cheating, continuing relationship, drawing blood - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-08
Updated: 2016-11-09
Packaged: 2018-08-29 22:35:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8508160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blue_Night/pseuds/Blue_Night
Summary: Marco and Robert are two Alphas loving each other. Robert left to play in Munich when their love almost destroyed them, but every time they have to play against each other during a match, Marco feels the pain of his love again. Each time they play against one another, Robert visits him in the locker room when the others are gone...





	1. Marco

**Author's Note:**

  * For [GoForGoals](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoForGoals/gifts), [mariothellama](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mariothellama/gifts), [Janie94](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Janie94/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Fighting back](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8499970) by [GoForGoals](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoForGoals/pseuds/GoForGoals). 
  * Inspired by [The Fire in His Veins](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8504491) by [mariothellama](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mariothellama/pseuds/mariothellama). 
  * Inspired by [Breathe Into Me](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7962757) by [Janie94](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Janie94/pseuds/Janie94). 
  * Inspired by [Let the Poison Out](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8358613) by [mariothellama](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mariothellama/pseuds/mariothellama). 



> For my two beloved sisters in heart (and crime in this case...) GoForGoals and mariothellama, because I can always come to you and tell you everything without you ever judging. For you, my dears, because you understand me like no one else does, and because this fic here is totally your fault. ;-*
> 
> For Janie94, because you made me find my love for Leweus after I had lost it again, and because you're writing such amazing stories and opened my mind for Alpha/Beta/Omega. :-*
> 
> For SHOX, because I am so happy to have you back in my life, Süßer, you don't know how much I missed you. :-* I know that you're not well and my thoughts are with you, just take your time, I hope that this fic will cheer you up a little bit.
> 
> The works from the other authors which inspired me to this fic are listed above, but this story is actually also inspired by some of my own works which I didn't want to link and which are:
> 
> 'The Slave' - not about A/B/O but about two strong Doms being in love with each other without being able to live in a relationship.  
> 'Black Moon' - my first A/B/O-story ever.  
> 'Germania' - because fighting Leweus is such a turn-on.
> 
> You can find them under my works in case you don't know them.
> 
> My dear readers, this is my second A/B/O-story, and my first story about this topic including sex ever (starting with two Alphas having sex to make it even harder), so please be gentle with me. I'm still recovering and not really well, and writing darker scenes and stories without any fluff is somewhat freeing.  
> This one is not so much about real fighting, more about emotions, but it is much rougher than I normally write sex, and there is also blood (the bite marks), and accepted and allowed cheating, so please be warned in case it might trigger you.  
> I would be incredibly grateful for your feedback as long as it is not hate- and hurtful, your kudos and comments are my strongest motivation to keep writing and posting for you even in rough and hard times, and they also show me that you like and appreciate what I'm writing for you, so please leave them for me if you liked this work. <333

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marco waits in the empty locker room for Robert to come to him after the game, musing about their impossible love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter tells the story told from Marco's POV, the next one from Robert's.

Seeing _him_ again was always like rubbing salt into an open, bleeding wound, agonizing and breathtakingly painful.

The pain spread out from the still open wound in his heart, a wound that refused to heal and which was only covered with the tiniest layer of scab that would be torn open again with the first glimpse Marco caught of _him_.

Even after two and a half years.

Marco knew that he should be grateful for seeing _him_ only a few times in the year, one time in the first half of the season and one time in the second half, together with perhaps one game in the DFB Cup competition and maybe – but only maybe – one in the Champions League competition.

Sometimes, they had to play against each other at the start of the season in one of those minor cup tournaments, and Marco was actually too much of a professional player for wanting to miss these games, but he never really argued when the trainer decided to give him a break during such matches.

The pain was always there, deep in his heart, never fading, but without seeing _him_ , it was more a dull ache Marco had gotten used to over the years.

Seeing _him_ – no matter whether it was personally or on TV, magazines or the Social Media - meant that the dull ache would sharpen to this unbearable pain again, a pain that felt as if his body and soul would be ripped apart, torn into two halves until Marco thought he would die from the searing agony.

Marco normally avoided magazines, TV or Social Media as best as he could, at least when the danger of stumbling over _his_ name and _his_ face was too high to risk it.

But Marco couldn't avoid seeing _him_ personally on these few occasions in the year if he didn't want to stop playing football - which he of course wouldn't do - because football had always been his first love. Not first when it came to the highest rank in the list of the things and people he loved most, but when it came to the years he loved playing football.

 _He_ had been his second love – his second love when it came to the years.

For some time, _he_ had been his first love when it came to the ranking list.

Robert Lewandowski.

A football player like Marco himself, loving to play as much as he did.

Robert Lewandowski, an Alpha like Marco himself.

The strongest and most powerful Alpha Marco had ever met. He was a strong and powerful Alpha himself, but Robert was stronger, more powerful than anyone – Marco included.

Robert had been the first and only Alpha Marco had wanted to submit to, the aura and appearance of the other Alpha overwhelming him right at first sight.

Marco had wanted to submit to him because he had fallen in love with Robert.

Two Alphas couldn't be together, and it was more than stupid to only think of it and yet, it had happened to Marco when he had looked into Robert's piercing deep blue eyes for the very first time.

He had fallen in love head over heels and without any chance to ever fall out of love again, and when Robert had turned around and gazed back at him, Marco had seen that the other Alpha had fallen in love with him, too, in the same minute Marco had realized what the pounding of his heart and the ache deep in his groin truly meant.

They had been together for two horrible and wonderful years, loving and hating each other, fighting and making up again and again, because two strong Alphas couldn't be together without trying to dominate the other one, no matter how hard they fought against their true nature for their love's sake.

As much Marco had loved to be taken by Robert, as much as he had loved to submit to him in bed and let the other male pound him through the mattress, as much he had hated it at the same time, craving to be for once the one doing that to Robert.

Robert had never let him try it except for one time, and it had ended horribly, both fighting until they had been a bleeding and screaming mess.

They had never tried it again.

Two months later, Robert had left Dortmund – and Marco – to play in Munich in the future.

He had explained the reason to Marco, he had actually cried while begging for Marco's understanding.

But he hadn't changed his mind when Marco had started to cry and begged him to stay, holding him, rocking him and telling him that it would be better this way for both of them.

Marco knew that Robert was right, but the pain in his heart threatened to burn him, and Marco felt like bleeding out, watching him silently close the door to leave him and never come back.

Two and a half years, and it still hurt that damn much, the pain about his lost second love never fading as life finally went on.

 

***

 

Marco was alone in the locker room like always after the matches they played against each other, every teammate knowing what would come afterwards and why they had to leave him alone. No one ever asked him any questions, his friends and colleagues never touched him after the games against the FCB, they simply smiled understandingly at him, no matter whether they were Alphas, Betas or Omegas. They smiled and left the locker room, one after the other, and Marco finally relaxed when the last one was gone, leaning back against the wall and closing his eyes to wait.

For _him_.

For Robert Lewandowski.

The door always opened as silently as it had been closed by his teammates before, and when Marco opened his eyes again, _he_ was there, standing in the doorway and looking at him with his deep blue eyes.

“Why am I always the one waiting, Robert? Why do you never ask me to come to you?” Marco inquired, his voice hoarse with his desire for the other Alpha. He didn't try to hide it, knowing that Robert had smelled his desire with his first intake of air after opening the door. His scent had already changed before that, his longing for his Alpha-lover too strong to deny it.

The Alpha with the dark curls closed the door, slowly gliding closer to the bench where Marco was sitting, still dressed with his sweaty jersey.

“I was the one leaving you, Mars. I am the one coming back to you.” Robert had reached him, lifting his hand up to let his fingers trail over the lines of his flushed face. Marco closed his eyes again, leaning into the touch.

This was their ritual, Marco always asking Robert the same question at the beginning of their short encounters and Robert always giving him the same answer, stroking his face afterwards.

“You said that you would never come back!” The new wave of pain mixed with his overwhelming desire let his next question sound reproachful and accusing, but Robert didn't get angry, only smiled sadly.

“I know, Mars. But here I am, so let us make the best out of it.”

The sudden pull at his arms made Marco stumble up to his feet, and before he could let out a warning growl at the unexpected attack, Robert's arms were around him, pressing him fiercely against the wall next to the bench while Robert's hot mouth singed his lips in a passionate kiss, the other Alpha's tongue forcing its way behind them.

Marco tried to push the aroused male away like always, his instincts taking over control and fighting against the Alpha demanding his submission, while his heart screamed yes to eventually feeling the man he still loved so much so close again. His nails scratched over Robert's back, only the hated red-white jersey keeping him from leaving deep red marks there.

Robert let out a warning snarl, deepening the kiss and pulling Marco with him in the direction of the showers. They stumbled, fought and growled their way to one of the cubicles, ripping their jerseys from each other's bodies without caring about tearing the garment. Robert's arms felt so wrong and yet so perfect around him at the same time, demanding his surrender and protecting him not only from the world, but also from his own confusing feelings and the terrible pain he felt twenty-four hours a day ever since the older Alpha had walked out of his life.

Marco hated and loved it at the same time - hated it that he needed Robert and his burning touch to feel alive and whole in a way no other being had ever made him feel, even not...

The blond Alpha pushed the thought vigorously to the side before he could think it to its end, focusing on Robert's kiss instead. The dark-haired's strong, musky scent filled his nose and every cell of his with desire, need and fire burning body, the fire of a rut only Robert could evoke. He pulled away from the hot mouth, not so much to get some air back into his lungs because the lack of air seemed to ease the pain and cool the fire at least a little bit, but to let out a howl he couldn't keep inside without choking on it.

“Want you, need you, Lewy!” Marco howled, and the other Alpha answered with a passionate growl, lowering his head to the vulnerable spot on Marco's throat where his pulse was racing. The blond Alpha's instincts screamed “no!” while his heart screamed “yes!” again as the younger one tilted his head to the side to expose his neck to the hungry bite of his mate.

Because this was what Robert still was, his mate.

His mate by a bond even Robert leaving him hadn't been able to break, a bond that tied two strong Alphas together in love and desire for the rest of their lives.

Sharp teeth breaking skin and sucking the small drops of blood blurred Marco's vision and he howled again, a sound that was the proof of his surrender and his triumph at the same time. Marco howled and mewled, letting Robert press him close to his strong frame and push him against the cold tiles of the shower cubicle with almost violent force. His cock was hard and throbbing since the first touch of Robert's calloused hand, and the impressive hardness rubbing against his abs was a clear sign that the dark-haired Alpha had never stopped loving and desiring him, either. He pressed and rubbed his with need and passion burning body against the other male, seeking friction and release from the unbearable fire coursing through his veins.

Robert lifted his head from his neck, his lips shining red with the drops of blood he had licked up from his bite-mark, his short curls tousled and the whites of his eyes red due to his own rut. “You're mine, Mars, forever mine!” The older Alpha growled, a low sound deep in his throat, and Marco felt the well-known urge to submit to this amazing being, to this panther demanding his unquestioning surrender like he had done it so many times before.

“I'm yours, Lewy, yours, yours! Take me!” the blond grunted, and Robert bared his teeth to a dangerous hiss, pulling one hand away from Marco's back to start the shower. The cool stream made Marco shiver, but he welcomed the coldness that quenched the flames of lust licking at his body to a level that he could fight his instincts enough to not risk serious damage of both of them by fighting too hard against the other Alpha.

The Alpha who was now pushing one with showergel slicked finger into his tight channel without any warning.

Marco hissed in annoyance but wrapped his legs around Robert's waist as the other male lifted him up with the other arm, grateful that Robert didn't try to take him without preparation. The Pole had done it before, but it had been too long since the last time to actually do that, and as Robert now kissed him again, his kiss was almost tender.

“Let me in, Mars, you're mine! Now and forever, so let me in!” he demanded in a husky voice that sent shivers along Marco's spine, and the blond did, melting against the Bayern player and relaxing his muscles.

He wouldn't have had to fight against his instincts and relax for Robert if he hadn't been what he was, another Alpha like Robert. Robert wouldn't need to prepare him if he had been an Omega and not an Alpha.

Omegas didn't need that, being born to submit to a strong Alpha and let them take them, but he was an Alpha and born to take an Omega and not to let another Alpha take him.

If he only didn't love Robert as much as he did, things would have been so much easier.

But Marco loved the dark-haired Alpha with all his heart and his soul, and so he forced himself by sheer willpower to relax and surrender to him instead of fighting against the intrusion and trying to change their roles, knowing that this was the one thing Robert actually couldn't give him, no matter how much he might wish he could.

They didn't break their passionate kiss until Robert could push in three fingers without meeting any resistance, their tongues battling for dominance in a more playful way, now that Marco had accepted his role for one more time, and their wistful purrs vibrated in their chests firmly pressed against each other.

“I'm ready for you, Lewy! Let me feel you!” Marco finally moaned, drawing back from Robert's bruised lips to push his face in the wet crook between Robert's shoulder and neck. The other Alpha shuddered and hissed, but he cocked his head to the side, allowing the blond to latch his lips onto the fragrant spot where his smell was so strong and his blood thrumming visibly under his skin.

Robert couldn't go against his instincts and let Marco take him without fighting until they were both bleeding and seriously injured, but he always fought against his instincts and let the younger male renew the biting mark when he pushed into him with his with showergel slicked up rock-hard cock.

Marco bit down hard, clinging to the sensation of Robert's warm blood filling his mouth with its metallic taste to distract himself from the first and always painful intrusion. A pain that was craved and wished, so much desired, but which brought the Alpha in him back to the surface, wanting to beat the other male until he would for once submit to him.

Robert didn't give him the time for such a reaction though, because he began to move now, setting up a fast and hard pace right from the start, and Marco's teeth drew more blood as he sank them deep into the flesh with the hot waves of lust shooting through his body. It felt so good to finally feel the man he loved for so long inside him again, to feel his hard cock moving so incredibly deep inside his tight passage, and Marco groaned and gasped, panted and grunted as he sucked on the throbbing mark he had left on the other male's body.

A mark that was the plain proof of the claim he had laid on this astonishing Alpha.

Robert growled, his fingers digging fiercely into the burning skin over his hipbones, keeping Marco in place and shoving him against the wet tiles with every forceful thrust in. The blond player couldn't really move in this position, even though he did his best to meet the older man's thrusts, trapped between Robert's strong frame and the wall of the shower cubicle. It never failed to amaze Marco how easily the older man could lift him up and carry his weight, Robert's rut boosting his physical strength in an amazing way.

Marco kept sucking and licking at Robert's throat as the other man fucked him hard and rough, thrusting into him again and again until the younger Alpha felt raw inside, raw with the feeling of Robert thrusting right into his soul to leave his claim not only in and on his body, but also in his entire being, in the one part of him that defined him and what he was – an Alpha hopelessly in love with another Alpha – hopelessly and without any chance of this love to ever fade.

Their harsh breathing, grunts, moans and gasps intermingled with the sounds of wet skin slapping rhythmically against wet skin, a symphony of passion and too many deep and suppressed emotions.

Marco could feel his orgasm building in his groin, the sensation of Robert's thick and so hard cock brushing over his prostate with every powerful thrust together with his own cock rubbing against the most beautiful six-pack imaginable pushing him towards the edge without mercy.

Robert growled when he sensed him getting close, loosening the tight grip of his right hand around his hip to jerk him off in times to his frantic movements.

“You're mine, mine, mine, Mars. You're mine forever!” the dark-haired Pole snarled, and the sensation of his knot almost tearing him apart as it thickened was what shoved Marco into the abyss of his own painfully intense ecstasy, making him raise his head and shout out loud, his desperate scream echoing in the damp air of the empty shower. Robert's fingers clenched around his cock with the similar knot, milking every drop out of him, the pulsing knot the proud evidence that Marco was a strong Alpha himself even though he surrendered to another one in this special moment, letting Robert fill him with his seed to mark him.

Marco's nails finally left the marks on Robert's shoulders and back the jersey had swallowed only half an hour ago, and the dark-haired player's answering yell was a mixture of despair, pain and triumph like Marco's had been.

“You're mine, too, Lewy,” Marco whispered brokenly when it was over after a little eternity, and Robert turned his head to kiss his wet cheek.

Whether it was only because of the water still raining down on them or more salty tears would stay Marco's secret like so many things he had kept as his secrets for so many years, but it probably didn't matter, all that mattered was the tenderness and the love Robert's kiss was filled with now.

They stayed like this for a while until the older Alpha could pull out of him without causing Marco too much pain, carefully lowering him down onto the floor of the shower cubicle again.

The younger one let out a small sound, a shaky sob, and Robert pulled him close and rocked him gently like he had done it when he had told him that he had to go.

“Will you be fine, Mars?” he asked, soft lips traveling tenderly over his face to search for his lips.

No, Marco wouldn't be fine, never in a million years again, but the sharp pain in his bleeding heart would eventually fade to the dull ache again, becoming bearable until their next encounter.

“Of course, I will. It will take some time, but in the end, I will be fine, don't worry, Robert,” he whispered, closing his eyes as he accepted Robert's last kiss, a kiss not between two fighting Alphas seeking to gain the upper hand, but a kiss between two young men loving each other with all their hearts.

“I am sorry, Mars, but I have to go. You know that I love you, don't you? I have always loved you, and I will always love you, but I really have to go now.” Robert looked at him with his deep blue eyes, the redness of his rut only a slight rosy memory after their shared passion.

Marco smiled, a mirror of the sad and wistful, resigned smile on Robert's handsome features.

“Yes, I know, Lewy. Just do it, I will be fine. But, don't turn around, just go.”

Robert hesitated for one more moment before he nodded and turned around, leaving the showers without any other word.

Marco stayed where he was, watching him leave, and when he was sure that the older Alpha was out of earshot, he took a deep breath and whispered into the dark room: “ One day, I will be fine. One day, the pain will fade. I love you, too, Robert.”

 

***

 

One single window was enlightened when Marco reached his home four hours after the end of the game, and Marco stopped in the driveway for a few seconds, closing his eyes to let the warm and bright yellow shine warm his cold face.

It was always like this when he came home after a game against Bayern – _he_ would wait for him in their living room, sitting on the couch and smile at him. It would be the same smile _he_ had gifted him with a couple of hours earlier when _he_ had left Marco alone together with their other teammates, only that _his_ smile wasn't only understanding and friendly, but also filled with tenderness, devotion and unquestioning love.

 _He_ might be the only one willing to accept Marco's love for another mate, his bond with another mate, and words couldn't describe Marco's relief, gratitude and humbleness by his other mate's willingness.

His Omega mate. The most beautiful and amazing Omega in the world, the most beautiful and amazing being in the world.

Erik Durm.

His third love when it came to the years, but his first love now when it came to his ranking list.

His beloved true mate, the one being completing him in a way even Robert couldn't complete him, because only an Omega could give an Alpha what he truly needed.

Marco stifled a sigh and crossed the short distance to his home, opening the door just to lock it behind him again and the world out for at least one night. He stepped out of his shoes and hung his jacket on the hook, shooting a quick look into the mirror beside it.

His eyes were still slightly red, but his face was calm, only his lips still swollen. Marco's gaze wandered down to the bite mark Robert had left on his throat, the same mark Robert wore himself.  
His fingers came up to touch it, and the slight pain was an echo of the pain deep in his still bleeding heart.

The blond Alpha swallowed and straightened his shoulders, finally entering the living room where his mate was waiting for him. Erik sat on the couch with a book in his lap, smiling up at him when he saw Marco in the doorway.

“Hello Marco, welcome home, love. Are you okay?” Erik asked when Marco did nothing but simply stand there in the doorway, looking down at him. His beautiful hazel-green eyes ignored the deep-red mark on his mate's neck, his beloved Omega just looked into his eyes with love and understanding.

Marco felt his entire body relax, and when he stepped into the room to go to the beautiful man sitting on the couch and waiting for him, a small, honest smile lit up his face.

“Hello Erik, I'm glad to be back at home with you, darling. And no, I'm not okay, not yet. But I will. With you by my side, I will be fine again.”

The blond Alpha sat down beside his mate to press a gentle kiss onto his temple, closing his eyes and inhaling Erik's wonderful scent.

The sweet scent of an Omega welcoming his mate back at home, not the musky smell of another Alpha.

Marco kissed him again, and when Erik wrapped his arms around him to kiss him back, Marco pulled him close and allowed Erik's love to comfort him.

No, he wasn't fine, but one day he would be, the scab covering his bleeding wound once more and the sharp pain eventually fading to the bearable dull ache again, the pain that came inevitably when two Alphas loved each other as much as Marco and Robert loved one another.


	2. Robert

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The same happenings told from Robert's POV. Every time they have to play against each other, Robert comes to Marco after the game, feeling the same pain Marco feels.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story felt incomplete without adding Robert's POV, and I needed to get this chapter off my chest so I can finally focus on the overdue chapter of Black Moon and the next of Germania.  
> I'm still a little bit struggling with some health issues and from tomorrow on, I will be back working, so my writing will slow down again, but I really wanted to post this chapter today.
> 
> My dear friends and readers, thank you so much for your support and amazing feedback to my latest updates, you have no idea how much it means to me. Knowing that you're still liking my stories does me a world of good and each kudo and comment is cherished and loved. Please, keep your wonderful support up and continue kudos-ing and commenting this story if you liked this chapter as well. A big, big thank you to all who will do that! <33

“I am sorry.”

The man in the doorway slowly turned around to look back at the last one of their team left in the locker room, sitting on the bench and still dressed with his dirty and sweaty jersey.

The man looked down at him, a small, resigned smile ghosting over his lips. “Don't be, Robert. You being sorry won't change anything.”

Robert swallowed. “I know, love. But I am sorry, nevertheless.”

The other man's face softened when he saw the pain displaying on Robert's face. “Don't be, Lewy,” he repeated, his smile understanding and accepting the inevitable now. “You wouldn't be the man I love if it wasn't for him. Just go to him, he needs you.” He hesitated, but then decided against what he had perhaps wanted to say or do, just silently leaving the except for Robert empty locker room and closing the door behind him.

Robert sat there for a while longer, the sweat drying on his body cooling his skin but not the fire burning in his veins, the fire of a forbidden love and desire he shouldn't feel but couldn't rip out of his heart, no matter how hard he tried to do so.

When he was sure that he wouldn't meet anyone on his way through the corridor, he finally rose to his feet to make his way to the other locker room where he knew that the other one was waiting for him.

Marco Reus, the first man he had ever loved in his life – another Alpha like Robert himself.

 

***

 

Marco was as beautiful as Robert remembered him when he opened the door to the locker room of the BVB players, sitting on the bench like a perfect marble statue, his eyes closed but his nostrils flaring slightly as he took in Robert's scent – the scent of the Alpha who had come to claim him.

Robert waited patiently until the younger Alpha opened his beautiful amber-green eyes to eventually acknowledge his presence, the whites already reddening with Marco's beginning rut.

For a moment, they just looked at each other, the musky air heavy with unspoken emotions.

Then, Marco opened his mouth to ask the question he always asked when Robert came to him after one of their games against each other.

“Why am I always the one waiting, Robert? Why do you never ask me to come to you?”

Robert finally closed the door, slowly coming closer like a panther creeping up on its prey.

Marco actually was his prey, the one he always needed to hunt down before he could have him. They had been together for two years and Robert had always needed to hunt him down before Marco had allowed to take him, submitted to him, being the strong and proud Alpha he was himself.

Two years of love and hate, fights and making up, two years of overwhelming passion and desire and unbearable pain until Robert had realized that their love would destroy them one day if he didn't leave the man he loved more than anything before this would happen.

He had been so tired of all the fights, of having to prove himself stronger and worthy enough to make another Alpha wanting to surrender to him again and again, and Robert had seen that Marco had been tired of going against his instincts the entire time, tired of denying his own true nature for Robert's sake.

The one time Marco had actually tried to make Robert submit to him, unable to suppress his own Alpha-drives any longer, had ended horribly, and it had been the last straw Robert had needed to face the truth:

Two Alphas couldn't live together, no matter how much they loved each other.

He had been the one leaving Marco, the hardest thing he had ever done, and it was upon him to come back to the man he had hurt so much, even though it might be only for one hour twice a year.

“I was the one leaving you, Mars. I am the one coming back to you.” Robert was standing before the younger Alpha now, reaching out with his hand to gently run his fingers over his with his rut and exertion from the game flushed features. This was their little ritual, and Marco closed his eyes and pressed his cheek against his hand like he always did, accepting Robert's answer as the only possible one.

“You said that you would never come back!”

Robert could see the pain on the other Alpha's face, the same pain that threatened to burn him every time he heard his name or saw Marco on the pitch or in the Social Media, reminding him of what he had lost – what he had given up – that cruelly.

“I know, Mars. But here I am, so let us make the best out of it.” Robert smiled sadly, understanding Marco's hurt too well to get angry at the accusation behind his words.

He pulled him up on his feet and right into his arms, unable to resist Marco's tempting closeness any longer. The blond's smell had changed, becoming stronger and muskier already during the game like it always did when Robert was near him, and the sudden rush of adrenaline and wild triumph that he was the one evoking these strong feelings in the other Alpha took his breath away for one moment.

Marco Reus was the strongest Alpha Robert had ever met and yet, this beautiful and astonishing man submitted to him every time he demanded his submission, the dangerous and proud golden cougar surrendering to the black panther, bending his head in a proud bow and accepting his defeat.

Robert was prepared for Marco fighting against him at first as he pressed him against the wall next to the bench, claiming his tempting mouth in a fierce kiss and swallowing the other Alpha's angry hiss. Marco tasted so good, and Robert had missed feeling and tasting him like this so much, the months they had been apart far too long for the fire of Robert's desire burning him day and night. He opened Marco's mouth with his tongue, demanding entrance to claim the soft cavern and learn the wonders awaiting him there once more.

Marco struggled in his arms, his fingers digging into his jersey to leave his own marks upon his body, and Robert growled in warning before starting off towards the showers to finally not only claim Marco's mouth, but also his body and his soul once more.

How he had missed the feeling of his strong lover's arms around him, of his Alpha mate fighting against him to win the upper hand like it was meant to be when two powerful Alphas came together in love and desire. How Robert had missed the feeling of Marco's body pressed close to his own, naked, hot and aroused after him ripping the yellow and black jersey from him. How he had missed the feeling of Marco's kiss burning his lips, the mewls and moans he pulled from him with their passionate fights.

The way to the showers seemed to stretch to miles but finally, Robert could step into one of the cubicles with his prey in his arms, their jerseys lying torn and forgotten on the floor before it. Marco drew back from his swollen lips, gasping for air.

“Want you, need you, Lewy!” Marco's desperate plea sent shivers of arousal and need along Robert's spine, and the dark-haired Alpha couldn't resist the overwhelming urge anymore and lowered his mouth down on the blond's throat, right where he could see his blood drumming under the fragrant and vulnerable skin. It had been so long, and Robert knew that he would die right there and then from the fire threatening to burn him if he couldn't mark the man he loved so much as his – now.

Marco struggled for the split of a second before he tilted his head to the side, exposing his neck to his mate to accept his bite, his claim, the proud evidence of his pure maleness pressing against Robert's abs. The older Alpha was as hard as his younger mate was, aching to sheathe himself into his tight heat until he would reach his soul and they would be only one again, at least for a few moments.

The blond pressed and rubbed himself against him as Robert now sank his teeth into the soft flesh of his throat, eagerly drawing blood and licking up the warm drops of Marco's delicious claret. Robert had always been addicted to the other Alpha's unique taste, so different from the taste of an Omega, the shimmering red liquid so full of life, energy and power. The body trapped between his frame and the tiles of the shower cubicle trembled in his arms, shivering in time to his sucking, and Robert's desire spiraled into incredible heights, the power of his rut blurring his vision and clouding his mind.

“You're mine, Mars, forever mine!” The dark-haired Alpha growled when he lifted his head from the blond's neck to lick the last drops of Marco's life-juice from his lips. This man was his for the rest of their lives and maybe even longer, his by the unbreakable bond of undying love tying them together.

“I'm yours, Lewy, yours, yours! Take me!” Marco grunted in acknowledgment, and Robert hissed contentedly and pulled one arm away to start the shower and slick his fingers up with the showergel. Everything inside him screamed to just take the other male and bury his rock-hard cock into his tight channel, his urge to just mount Marco and satisfy his burning need threatening to blot out all reason. But there was one small part left that kept him from doing so, his love actually stronger than his desire, and this part told him to prepare the man he loved with every fiber of his being and reduce the pain he would definitely feel to the minimum this way.

Marco hissed as he pushed one finger inside without warning him beforehand, but he wrapped his legs around his hips when Robert easily lifted him up with the arm, his rut providing him with enough strength to do that.

“Let me in, Mars, you're mine! Now and forever, so let me in!” he demanded Marco's surrender, and after a short moment, the younger Alpha relaxed in his arms, wrapping his arms tightly around him and melting against his frame.

Robert kissed him again to distract him from the intrusion, and he didn't draw back from Marco's lips until he could finally insert three fingers without meeting any resistance. The older Alpha didn't know from where he took the strength to prepare him that thoroughly without going insane, the fire of his need and desire eating him alive, but Marco's almost sweet and tender kiss felt too heavenly to end it too soon. The sensation of the hot and eager cheeky tongue playing with his own in the most arousing way possible loosening the tight grip of the iron ring around his heart.

The iron ring that pressed his poor, bleeding heart together that painfully day and night ever since he had left Dortmund and the man he loved so much two and a half years ago.

For a second, Robert wished that they could do it the other way around, that he could fight against his instincts enough to let Marco take him without beating him until he lay bleeding and seriously injured on the ground. For a brief moment, Robert wished that Marco would be an Omega and not the remarkable and desirable Alpha he actually was.

“I'm ready for you, Lewy! Let me feel you!” Marco's hoarse plea let these thoughts vanish again, and when the blond lowered his head down to his neck, Robert did fight against his instincts and tilted his head to the side to give the Alpha he loved access to his vulnerable throat and let him do the one thing he could do without Robert's own drives gaining the upper hand and fighting back.

It cost the dark-haired male all of his strength to allow the other one this small victory, but he knew that he had to grant him this proof of his love and will to surrender himself at least a little bit.

Robert had broken Marco's heart when he had walked away, had shattered his world into a million pieces without any chance to ever make it whole again, and Marco leaving his mark upon him was his penance and his attempt to make amends for what he had taken away from him – himself and his love.

He lined his throbbing cock up with the showergel with feverish and trembling fingers, the long-time practice allowing him to do that one-handed, and when Marco closed his lips around the spot where his pulse was racing and bit down hard, Robert pushed into him with one single, powerful thrust. He didn't wait for Marco's reaction but set up a hard and fast pace right away, the sensation of sharp teeth breaking his skin and smooth lips sucking his blood driving him to the very edge of his control. He needed to be inside him, to reach Marco's innermost core, his heart and his soul with his thrusts, and Robert moved his hips in desperate abandon, pushing deeper and deeper until there was no space left between them and they were truly only one being.

His angle and power served to hit Marco's most sensitive spot as the blond trembling with desire and need matched his sucking and licking with Robert's relentless pummeling, and the older Alpha let the sensations of Marco's walls clenching around him and his tongue licking up the precious drops of his lifeblood wash over him as he fucked him deep and hard.

The damp air of the showers was filled with the sounds of ecstasy and desire, grunts, moans and gasps, wet skin moving against wet skin, rhythmical slapping and harsh breathing, and Robert struggled hard to last long enough and wait for Marco, his whole body feeling like burning alive with his love and passion for the other male.

His knees almost buckled with relief when he felt Marco tense up in his embrace, a clear sign that he was close to his orgasm. Robert loosened the tight grip of his right hand to stroke his mate to completion, craving to feel the knot only another Alpha had in his fingers when the younger one would find his release.

“You're mine, mine, mine, Mars. You're mine forever!” Robert snarled helplessly as his own orgasm overtook him with violent force, his knot as he filled Marco with his seed to mark him as his forever pulling a loud scream from the shuddering blond, a scream filled with so many emotions that it was too much to bear and yet too little at the same time.

Robert's answering shout was an echo of Marco's as he cried out in triumph and despair, the feeling of Marco's pleasure erupting from his pulsing cock with the thick Alpha-knot boosting his own ecstasy until his vision went white with the force of his climax.

Marco had surrendered to him.

Again.

Even though he was a powerful Alpha like Robert himself.

Marco had surrendered to him once more like he had done so many times before, surrendered not because it was his nature to surrender to a strong Alpha, but only because he loved Robert so much, maybe even more than Robert loved Marco.

Because if Robert loved Marco as much as the blond loved him, why the heck couldn't he return the favor at least once in a while and let Marco take him, as well?

Robert asked himself this question while he waited for their heartbeats to slow down and his knot to shrink again until he could pull out of the exhausted male in his arms without hurting him. He didn't find the answer, though, and when Marco let out a small sound and whispered “you're mine, too, Lewy,” in such a broken voice, he turned his head and kissed him tenderly on his cheek.

Marco's cheek was wet, and Robert was certain that the wetness didn't come from the water stream alone, but he didn't ask him whether or not he was crying. Some things should be kept a secret, and Robert knew that he wouldn't be ready for Marco's answer.

Finally, he could pull out of him and lower Marco down onto his feet again, readying himself for the worst part of their painful and far too short encounter: the hated but necessary goodbye. Not really willing to let it end, Robert pulled him close and rocked him, savoring Marco's scent and the feeling of his warm and now pliant body against his own and trying to burn the memory of this precious moment into his memory.

The dark-haired Alpha knew that the memories of this evening would be all he would have for the next months, that he would have to live on this memory and the memories of all the other moments and hours they had shared when the pain of his desire and his love would crash him again, a pain that accompanied him everywhere and that never faded.

The pain Robert needed to welcome, value and treasure to not lose himself and everything he was.

“Will you be fine, Mars?” he murmured, traveling with his lips over Marco's wet face to search for his trembling mouth.

“Of course, I will. It will take some time, but in the end, I will be fine, don't worry, Robert,” Marco always said the same sentence when it was over, assuring him that he would be fine even though both knew that he wasn't and would never be.

Robert kissed him and this time, it wasn't the kiss of the powerful Alpha he was, but the kiss of a desperate young man in love who had to leave his lover again, his heart breaking in two so one part of it could stay with the one he had to leave behind.

“I am sorry, Mars, but I have to go. You know that I love you, don't you? I have always loved you, and I will always love you, but I really have to go now.”

“Yes, I know, Lewy. Just do it, I will be fine. But, don't turn around, just go.” Marco returned his worried gaze with surprising calmness, his eyes still red from his fading rut but his expression almost impassive and controlled.

Robert swallowed, his throat tight as he searched for something else to say, something that would make this goodbye a little less painful than it was. When he didn't find anything, he simply nodded and turned around, walking out of the showers and Marco's life like it had become his fate a long time ago, his heart and soul screaming with the searing pain of their goodbye, but his face as impassive as Marco's had been.

When he reached the door, his steps faltered and Robert closed his eyes, Marco's whispered words blowing softly against his own wet cheeks in a last tender greeting.

“ One day, I will be fine. One day, the pain will fade. I love you, too, Robert.”

 

***

 

The warm yellow light shining through the window of their living room greeted the late homecomer, a tender welcome that assured Robert that the man he had apologized to a couple of hours ago was still awake and waiting for him like always when his Alpha came back home late after one of their matches against Dortmund.

Robert closed the door behind him with a relieved sigh, leaning against it for a second to breathe in the familiar scent of his beloved Omega mate. It was less strong here in the hallway of their shared home, but it was there, and this was all that mattered to the dark-haired Alpha.

 _He_ had been the one who had picked up the pieces that had been left from him when Robert had joined the FCB, heartbroken and suffering from a pain that seemed to eat him alive, all-consuming and slowly but unstoppably driving him insane.

 _He_ had been there, offering friendship, warmth, understanding and comfort before finally offering himself, giving Robert what he had craved for so badly with such natural ease that it seemed to be a true miracle: his unquestioning surrender.

 _He_ was a proud and strong Omega, reminding Robert almost painfully of the man he had lost, and yet _he_ could give him what he wanted - _needed_ \- without ever losing _himself_ and _his_ power, because _he_ was an Omega and born to submit to his Alpha mate – to Robert.

Thomas Müller, the one who had saved him and who loved him with all his heart and force.

The one allowing him to do what Robert needed to do, go back to Marco and love him for one precious hour twice or thrice a year.

Not because Thomas wouldn't have cared, because he wasn't hurt when Robert left him for a while to love his other mate, but only because he loved Robert too much to let him suffer more pain than he already did.

Robert had never stopped wondering about Thomas accepting his love for another man, even though this man wasn't a threat to him.

How could Marco have been a threat to him? Marco was an Alpha, he could never give Robert what he needed, what only an Omega could give him, but Robert knew that this didn't make it any better.

The dark-haired Alpha sighed, tired down to his bones as he pushed himself away from the door to enter the living room and go to his beloved Omega mate standing before the enlightened window. The red marks of his Alpha mate where Marco's nails had scratched over his back and broken the skin in the heat of passion still hurt, but Robert welcomed the pain, serving as a soft reminder of their far too short encounter over the next days until they would have healed again. Robert actually loved Marco marking him this way, he needed the pain to feel alive when the agony of his loss threatened to overtake him once more.

Thomas didn't turn his head when Robert wrapped his arms around his midsection from behind, pressing a chaste kiss onto the rosy bite-mark on the tall Omega's neck, but he leaned back into the embrace and entangled their fingers, absentmindedly stroking over the back of Robert's hand.

For a while, they simply stood like this, gently rocking forth and back on their heels until Robert finally relaxed with a small, resigned sigh.

“Thank you, love.”

Thomas squeezed his fingers in a tender gesture. “You don't have to thank me, Robert. We have talked about this a long time ago, nothing has changed since then.”

“Yes, I know. But I want to thank you, nonetheless.”

Finally, Thomas turned his head to smile at him, a smile full of love and tenderness, but Robert could see the hidden pain behind the love and tenderness. Pain about what both of them couldn't change, not anger or hurt about Robert's deed.

His betrayal.

Because this was what it was, a betrayal, no matter whether or not Thomas had accepted his love for another Alpha he had already loved before even knowing Thomas.

Robert had to live with the pain he had caused Marco to feel when he had left him, and he had to live with the pain he caused Thomas to feel whenever he left him to be with Marco for one hour. The pain of both men added to the pain he felt himself, but Robert didn't fight against it, knowing that he deserved to feel the pain of three men at once, his penance for craving for the forbidden love he wasn't allowed to feel.

“I love you, Thomas, more than anything. More than my own life.” What else could he say?

Thomas regarded him attentively. “I love you, too, Robert, and I always will. Nothing could ever take my love away from you.” The Omega lifted his hand up to stroke Robert's cheek, and the Alpha closed his eyes and kissed him, a soft and tender kiss meant to comfort both of them.

For some more time, they stared out of the window and into the darkness in silence, the throbbing of the fresh bite-mark on his neck a constant reminder of what Robert had done.

“Is Marco okay?” Thomas' quiet voice pulled Robert out of his thoughts and he sighed, pressing his cheek against Thomas' stubbly one. He swallowed and closed his eyes, the image of the pain on Marco's face so clear before his mind's eye as if the blond Alpha would stand right before him.

“No, he is not, love. But one day, he will be. One day, we will all be fine again. One day, the pain will finally fade.”

If Robert could only believe that himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to show the differences between Robert and Marco and their mates with the last part of this chapter, I hope I succeeded with that.  
> This story is surely one of the saddest and most bittersweet I have ever written, and it was pretty painful for me to write. I do hope that you won't hate Marco, Robert and me too much after reading this...  
> Lovely GoForGoals asked for a chapter told from Erik's POV, but this story is only Marco's and Robert's it wouldn't feel right to add more chapters to it. If you would be interested in learning more about Erik's and Thomas' POVs though, please let me know, I would think about a sequel to this story after seeing to some other updates then. :-)


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